Alan McGowan

Alan studied at Edinburgh College of Art and Newcastle
Polytechnic, and has taught drawing and anatomy for over twenty
years in places such as The Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin,
Edinburgh College of Art, Bristol School of Drawing and Leith
School of Art. His work has been exhibited at the BP Portrait
Award, the Threadneedle Prize, the Society of Portrait Sculptors
exhibition and he was a semi-finalist for Sky Portrait Artist of
the Year 2014. Alistair was winner of the Wood Award (Visual Arts
Scotland), the Bowie Award for Painting, and the Powderhall Foundry
Award for Sculpture 2015.

Describe your approach to teaching:

I believe that understanding our craft can make us more liberated
as artists and my approach to teaching is to try to inform people,
through discussion and demonstration, to enable them to release
their own creativity.

Gallery

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West Dean is part of a registered charity and relies on the
support of generous donors, friends, legacies to help us deliver
world-class education in conservation and the creative arts and
maintain our award-winning gardens.